Active Skills for Reading 1 (Unit 12: The Power of Stories)


CHAPTER 2 - Internet Hoaxes

Vocabulary Skill - Nouns That Are Also Verbs

Over time, some nouns become verbs in English. This process is called verbing. Some of the older products of verbing are salt and mail, while newer ones are blog and gift.

A. Look at this list of nouns that are also verbs. Can you add any more to the list?

water
mask
compliment
mail
host
light 		stamp
salt
phone
cover
support
vote



B. Complete the following sentences by replacing the phrase in parentheses with the correct form of the verbs from A

  1. Martha, will you please (pour water on) the plants during my vacation?
  2. Stan is always (giving compliments to) Leslie. I think he likes her.
  3. If you're going to be late, you should (make a phone call to) the restaurant.
  4. Please consider (casting your vote) for Sue Whitford for president.
  5. Mel (was the host at) a really big party last night. It was a nice chance for new students to socialize.
  6. During the winter, my father (puts a cover on) our swimming pool.
  7. Although we didn't have a flashlight, the moon (shined light on) our way to the beach.
  8. I've already (put salt in) the soup, so you don't need to add any more.

Celebrate your achievements.

As a class, did you achieve your goal of becoming fluent readers? Fluent readers read at 200 wpm with 70 percent comprehension. As a class, did you achieve this goal? If so, celebrate your achievement together!

Internet Hoaxes

The Internet is a fast and convenient way of sending and obtaining information, but it's also a very easy way to spread misinformation. And new hoaxes pop up almost every day about anything from shocking celebrity deaths to mystery objects in foods. Here are three examples of Internet hoaxes.

Pay what you weigh

On April 1, 2011, New Zealand Air began advertising a one-day fare sale-pay what you weigh. The airline's website offered visitors a chance to pay a dollar amount that was equal to their weight in kilograms. The idea was "more weight = more fuel = more cost" and many people believed it. The promotion brought thousands of visitors to the company's website and became a popular news story. In the end, though, the promotion turned out to be an April Fool's1 joke.

Croc on the loose

While the streets of New Orleans were still flooded after a terrible hurricane, a frightening email was sent around the Internet. It included a photograph of an immense crocodile over five meters long. According to the message, it had been swimming around the flooded city eating people. It was later discovered that the photographs of the crocodile were of one that was caught in the Congo2 years before.

Earn money through emails

The following email hoax fooled many people. The sender claims that a large company will pay you to send their email to as many people as possible. For every person that you send the email to, the company promises you will receive $5; for every person that person sends it to, you'll get $3; and for every third person those people send it to, you will be paid $1. To make the lie even more believable, the sender says that at first he thought it was a hoax, but the company soon sent him $800.

1 April Fool's Day is celebrated as a day when people play tricks and hoaxes on each other.
2 The Congo is an area in Africa.

Chapter - 2: Vocabulary Comprehension - Definitions Chapter - 2: Real Life Skill - Understanding Internet Speak

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